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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

USDA-ARS partners PathoGenetix on identifying food borne outbreaks

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural
Research Service (USDA-ARS)
and PathoGenetix have signed an
agreement to evaluate the company’s Genome Sequence Scanning (GSS) technology
for use in identifying strains of Shigatoxin-producing E. coli (STECs) and
Salmonella enteric which are two types of pathogens frequently implicated in
food borne outbreaks.

The Chief Executive Officer, PathoGenetix, Ann Merrifield
stated this in a release sighted by NaijaAgroNet
and noted that the ability to quickly and accurately identify these pathogens,
particularly in their most virulent forms, can have significant public health
and financial impact for consumers, farmers, ranchers, agricultural and food industries.

“As we work to
deliver a fully automated resolution system for rapid and effective pathogen
strain typing next year, we are pleased to partner with USDA-ARS to demonstrate
the speed and effectiveness of the GSS technology, particularly in
differentiating the most virulent pathogens that pose the greatest challenges
to food safety and public health investigations,” Ann Merrifield said.

NaijaAgroNet
gathered that under the agreement, USDA-ARS and PathoGenetix researchers will
analyze the strains, both as isolates and in mixed cultures, using
PathoGenetix’s Genome Sequence Scanning™ (GSS™) technology, currently in
development for commercial use as the Resolution Microbial Genotyping System,
while the results of the joint analysis
would assist USDA-ARS in evaluation of
the Resolution System as a platform for rapidly identifying pathogenic
Salmonella and E. coli in food samples.

The release also confirmed that Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia
coli (STEC) and Salmonella enterica are an important U.S. public health
concern, causing an estimated 1.2 million cases of food borne illness each year
while six additional STEC serogroups are now considered adulterants in certain
beef products.

PathoGenetix’s GSS technology it further said identifies
microbial DNA from complex mixtures or from isolates, and automates the process
from sample preparation through data analysis to provide actionable information
in five hours.